How Young Is Too Young? Part II

One player who knows what Tavares is going through is Ottawa star Jason Spezza. As another highly-touted youth, he joined the OHL’s Brampton Battalion at 15, another example of a special player given an age exemption. Spezza also had the benefit of living at home that season, which he says helped what turned out to be the right career move.

“It was a good chance for me to play against older guys,” Spezza said. “Being 15 and playing 20 year olds was a big step.”

Spezza reflects fondly on his first year with Brampton, noting he took on a sort of little-brother role on the team. “Our captain would drive me to the rink every morning,” he recalled.

As for the hype surrounding him, Spezza tried to avoid it. “You don’t worry about it; people will talk,” he said.

do it for yourself

No matter how much potential a young player has, they have to want it for themselves and not for their parents.

“The necessity for me,” Deasley said, “is to meet the player and the family and make sure it’s a good fit.”

For MacInnis, any lobbying by parents is usually discounted.

“We try and avoid it as much as we can,” he said. There are exceptions, of course. MacInnis recalled one parent who constantly sent video clips and e-mail about his 13-year-old son.

“He was very aggressive,” MacInnis said of Troy Crosby, who has a son named Sidney. “And hey, he was right.”